28 May 2017

WEEKLY GRATITUDE

Given that this is the last 'Weekly Gratitude' of May, I figured I would do things a little bit differently today and throw in a few things I have been doing, loving and working towards this month, as well as all the things I have been grateful for this week (of course!).

Exciting thing of the week

The first thing I want to mention (and something I am hugely grateful for) is being featured on the lovely Sairas blog, The Wild Sheep. She reached out to me to ask whether I would like to collaborate on a post and I jumped at the chance (I do love a good old collaboration!). The post she wrote went up on Friday and features all sorts of topics including business, mental health, moving to Cornwall and blogging (of course!). She named the post 'Salty Sea in Sight', which I think is really cute, and I love it so much! A big thank you to Saira for featuring me, I really appreciate you taking the time to do it.

Update of the week

If you, or anyone you know, has recently got engaged, then stay tuned for a little freebie I will be launching as part of Leaf Lane Studio in the next couple of weeks. I have been working on a pretty little Wedding Day Checklist which covers all the little things (and big things!) you need to think about if you are planning a wedding. I am just adding the finishing touches and will let you guys know, really soon, how you can get your free copy!

Favourite moment of the week
We had some stunning weather in Cornwall this week and, without question, my favourite moment of the week has to have been sitting at my art desk, the window fully open, with the smell of the sea, the sound of the birds and a lovely cup of tea on the go whilst I create some paintings. I feel so lucky every single day I am in there and cannot wait until I can show you guys all the things I have been working on as actually products! It won't be long now!

Something to be proud of
This may seem insignificant to some people but yesterday, as you will know if you have been watching my Every Day in May vlogs (this weeks linked below for you), I was feeling a little low and, for the first time in ages, I took myself upstairs and allowed myself to rest up for over two hours. This rarely happens, unless I am forced to lay down with a migraine or something else; I usually try and power on but I was proud of myself that I actually listened to my body and ended up feeling better for it. I meditated for 20 minutes, had a nap and then read some blog posts and just relaxed. I am still trying to work on my guilt around sitting still for a bit but I will get there.

Favourite YouTuber of the week
Victoria D'Ariano is someone I have only just recently discovered and I am hooked on her recent series called 'Courage To Be You' in which she talks about her struggles with mental health and body image. If you like fitness-related channels then check her out, especially this series as it is rather lovely :-)

Favourite blog post of the week
Yesterday I read 'Goodbye to Bear' on the ever so lovely Peta's blog www.pe-ta.com. This made me actually sob all the giant tears because, let's face it, most of us know how sad it is to lose a family pet and, well, this post is simply the perfect way of articulating all the emotions involved in losing a fur-baby. Please give it a read, it really is wonderful.

A few other things I am grateful for this week
:: Marks and Spencer, I bow down to your Dine In For Two offer. Steak and caramelised-onion pies and Millionaires Shortbread desserts... *heart-eyed emoji a plenty*

:: This deserves a much bigger mention but it really isn't something I feel should be given in detail... I will just say this: thank you , thank you, thank you a million times over to the lovely peeps who 'own' me for their much needed help. I appreciate it with all my heart; I won't let you down.

:: The Salvia plant (the one Joe and I bought at The Eden Project) has grown so much and there were some cute little bees on it yesterday! You have no idea how happy that makes me!

:: The beauty of the weather has fascinated me this week. Thursday was stunning and then Friday evening/early hours of Saturday we had some crazy rain, lightning and thunder. I went downstairs at about 12.45am to let Gizmo out and saw something I have never seen in the sky before. It was like a big ball of light flashed right above my head (I was at the door letting the cat out so saw it directly). It was the brightest thing I have ever seen. As much as I tried to convince Joe I saw a UFO, I think his argument for lightning probably won. Apparently it was something like 'ball lightning' which is super rare. Whatever it was, it was kind of cool and the smell of the rain was also bloomin' fabulous!

:: Late night girly chat! Last night H and I finally had a little catch up. She has recently moved to Devon, to start a new life as a bed and breakfast owner, with her lovely hubby and gorgeous dog too. I may ask her soon if I can do a post on her place (any excuse for a visit!). It was nice to find out how everything has been for them and to have a giggle over my imaginings of them being exactly like Fawlty Towers!

:: The struggle to keep up with the appetite of birds and their little ones is real! But today we ventured out to a different shop and managed to find a 12.5kg bag of seed for our feathery children... that should last us at least a week given their current rate of eating and the fact that I found Gizmo munching on the seed that was on the grass too! It's like a military operation!

That is all for today folks! Stay tuned for a double video tomorrow (I am being forced to join days as we really are not doing much at the moment as we both have separate projects going on which make us very anti-social indeed!).

This weeks vlogs...

M O N D A Y

W E D N E S D A Y (nothing on Tuesday because of the Manchester event... it didn't feel right to vlog)